Playbook: June 4Thursday, June 4 Baseball: Kodiak vs. Chugiak at the state championships at Mulcahy Field in Anchorage, 7 p.m. Friday, June 5 Baseball: Kodiak at at the state championships at Mulcahy Field in Anchorage, Softball: Kodiak vs. Hutchison at the small-school state championships in Fairbanks, 1 p.m. Saturday, June 6 Baseball: Kodiak at at the state championships at Mulcahy Field in Anchorage, Softball: Kodiak at the sm...

Alaska State Troopers: June 4May 23 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted a man aboard a personal watercraft that did not have current flares aboard. The man was cited for expired flares. AWT contacted a man operating a powerboat in Danger Bay. He was cited for failing to display the boats Alaska identification number and valid registration sticker. At 5:20 p.m., AWT contacted a woman who was sport fishing on the Buskin River and found she had c...

STEEPED IN ADVENTURE: Local ski enthusiasts slice through Kodiak’s High Country snowIt’s a well-kept secret, but some of the best skiing in Kodiak take place in May and June, local ski enthusiasts say. Kodiak skiers Sharon and Steve Wielebski, Lisa McCormick and Greg Rosenkranz took a short flight with Sea Hawk Air to Terror Lake on Thursday morning. “A short 10-minute walk up the road took us to snow,” said Wielebski, owner of Orion Mountain Sports in Kodiak. “There is good skiing around Terror ...

MOUNTAIN VIEWS: A whale of a mystery in AfognakThe floating object was truly a mystery to me. What was this large, white mass at the mouth of Afognak Bay? It hardly moved and looked like a small amphitheater. Very un-Alaskan, really. For a moment I thought it could be yacht. What could produce such a large bright reflection? Every summer our family spends several weeks on Afognak Island hiking, catching salmon, picking berries, resting on the beach. Lying in t...

DOT: Ferry service will stop if shutdown occursThe Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is preparing for a government shutdown that will include all Alaska Marine Highway System ferries ceasing to operate if it occurs. “Due to the uncertainty of a fully funded State of Alaska fiscal year 2016, (ADOT&PF) is preparing to reduce services statewide on July 1, 2015, the start of the new state fiscal year,” according to a release from DOT&PF. AM...

Refuge visitor center has full summer plannedAs summer heats up in Kodiak, the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is beginning their summer programs. Happy Trails is back on Saturdays starting at 2 p.m. “It’s for kids of all ages and families and other folks too,” said visitor center manager Ava Kahn. “It gets folks outside.” Participants meet at different outdoor locations for an hour or so of “meeting in nature’s classroom,” Kahn said. This Sat...

Jakob Arnold to play for Flagler College next seasonA mother doesn’t always know best. Kris Arnold wanted her son, Jakob, to be a catcher. She liked how he threw the ball to second. It’s a good thing Jakob didn’t listen to his mother as the Kodiak High School senior has found a niche throwing in another direction — to home plate. On Monday, under the bright blue sky and sitting at a table in front of the pitching mound at Baranof Field, Jakob Arnold inked a nationa...

Black Rockfish closure in the Afognak district of the Kodiak area The directed black rockfish jig gear fishery in the Afognak District of the Kodiak Area closed at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Catch reports indicate black rockfish harvest in the Afognak District was approaching the guideline harvest level, the ADF&G said in a news release. Following the closure, jig gear vessels may retain black rockfish in the Afognak Distr...

KHS baseball snags top awardFor the third straight year a Kodiak baseball player was named the Southcentral Conference South Division most valuable player. Senior hurler Jakob Arnold earned the award this year, following in the footsteps of Brandon Mahle and Austin Frick. “That is pretty neat,” Kodiak coach James Arnold said. Jakob Arnold has posted a 5-0 record with a 1.25 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. The right-hander has struck out 51, walked 15...

Alaska Science Forum: Denali plants more diverse up highWhen Carl Roland was hiking the high country in an Alaska national park not long ago, he thought the landscape looked different than any park in the Lower 48. The alpine zone seemed to be carpeted with more plant species than the much-larger forests and wetlands in the valleys below. When Roland looked at plant inventories from a large chunk of Denali National Park, he confirmed a pattern that seems unique: An inc...